schools | Schools Week

Academy trusts’ cash stash rises to £3bn despite pandemic pressures

Academy trusts boosted their reserves and surpluses last year despite the upheaval of Covid, official figures show. New Department for Education data confirms a 20 per cent jump in the average trust’s reserves, up from £0.96 million a year earlier to £1.15 million. The figures cover the year to the end of last August however, […]

Attendance: 1 in 20 pupils absent due to Covid as isolations soar

More than one in 20 pupils were off school last week due to Covid, with more than a quarter of a million children isolating due to potential contact in school, new data shows. The latest attendance survey data from the Department for Education shows an estimated 384,500 pupils, or 5.1 per cent of pupils, were […]

DfE behaviour consultation seeks views on mobile phone bans

Schools will be asked for information about their behaviour strategies, their use of so-called “managed moves”, and how they deal with mobile phones as part of a six-week consultation launching today. This is an operational decision for schools, not something that can be micromanaged from Westminster The call for evidence was pledged by education secretary […]

Green: Extended school day could be used to teach more ‘life skills’

An extended school day could be used to fit more “life skills” into the curriculum, the shadow education secretary has suggested. Kate Green told the Festival of Education this morning that “proper time” was needed in the curriculum for skills like managing money, understanding our political system and cooking. Green announced earlier this year that […]

Death of the single academy? Leaked documents reveal DfE vision

Standalone and small multi-academy trusts will wither away as mergers fuel the growth of larger trusts, according to leaked Department for Education documents seen by Schools Week. The news comes as a Schools Week analysis suggests a merger was approved every five days over the past year. It lays bare the scale of growth in […]

School staff in Devon get £10 each as Covid thank you gesture

A council with a £50 million deficit has given its schools around £65,000 to spend on staff as a “token of appreciation” for their hard work and resilience during the pandemic. Devon County Council (DCC) has awarded its schools £10 per employee to spend “in whatever way they think best to thank teaching and support […]

Schools warned Brexit driver shortages threaten meal supplies

School meals could face disruption and caterers have begun stockpiling as a driver shortage fuelled by Brexit and Covid puts deliveries at risk, a local council has warned. Sheffield City Council said cooks would be given two days’ “emergency stand-by menu items” from this week in case the national driver shortage threatens frozen and dry […]

Williamson dodges calls to publish winter Covid schools plan

Gavin Williamson has confirmed he has a plan for responding to a potential winter wave of Covid or a flu outbreak, but dodged calls to publish it in advance. I’m desperately hoping never to have to touch it The education secretary also insisted the government’s understanding of how to run schools safely while providing “high-quality” […]

Attendance: School Covid contact absences quadruple in a week

The number of pupils absent because of a potential contact with Covid-19 in school has quadrupled in just one week, new government attendance data shows. Attendance survey data published by the Department for Education shows 171,600 pupils missed school on June 17 because of potential contact with the virus in school, up from 40,200 on […]